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I am now down to just 10 days
left in South Korea and with so much to say, I doubt it would fit in a Facebook
status so I decided to blog it. This past weekend has been absolutely amazing.
It started on Friday night with our ‘Party to the Power of Four’ which was an
epic party to celebrate both Kelly and Bonnie’s upcoming birthdays and a
farewell to myself and Jasmine (and Ch Eng, Sam, Mathilda, Matt and everyone
else who is about to leave).
We started the night off at one
of our favourite bars, Osan Lounge in Songtan. I have amazing memories there;
good times with friends and that’s where I first met my boyfriend. It was quiet at first as no one is ever
punctual but after the people started to arrive, the good times started rolling.
The turn-out was absolutely fantastic. I am so grateful for all those who made
it and lent their awesome to the collective awesome to make it the most awesome
night ever! Yes… it really was that awesome. My boyfriend taught Sayida and I how
to play darts which involved Sayida flinging the darts at the board with such
force that I was sure she was going to break someone’s face/the darts/the dart
board or the wall itself. I went for a subtler ‘throw-it-gently-and-hope-for-the-best’
approach. My approach must have worked because I won that game. We both had fun either way. Mmm… speaking of
throwing stuff, I also threw caution to the wind and enjoyed some Baby
Frog/Strawberry Aid slush. Aaaah, the sugar and booze-laden delight. I also had
the opportunity to meet new people, including some of my boyfriend’s friends.
One of whom decided it would be a great idea to introduce me to my own
boyfriend. It was hilarious because just as he was asking Barrey if he knew me, my
boyfriend was putting his arms around me in a giant hug. Good to know that people who don’t know we are
together think we would be good together. After a few drinks, games of pool and
darts, we then gathered the masses and headed over to another one of our
favourite bars and the place where morals go to die, Jammers. On the way there
I had a few shots of Taiwanese ‘something’ so details may get blurry after this
point.
As soon as we got to Jammers, I
was unfortunate enough to have a confrontation with someone I never want to see
or talk to again. Thankfully after (very loud angry) words were exchanged, he
left and my awesome night continued. In typical fashion, soju-kettles were
found on every table and shots flowed freely (as did the tears as people got
ready to call it a night and leave). We all partied the night away side by
side; military, teachers and even parents. Jas amazed us with her crazy dance moves.
There was beer pong, games of pool (my boyfriend beat me even though he tried
very hard to lose) and plenty of dancing. We sang along to ‘Mmm Bop’ and danced to
the Macarena. We took dodgy pictures that should never see the light of day but
will still end up on someone’s Facebook. We are a really amazing group and I
hope that the future foreigner community of the greater Pyeongtaek area will
also enjoy that sense of family and friendship that I have experienced in this
past year. By the end of the night (actually some time the next morning) with
speech slurred, wallets near empty and good judgement far behind us, we
stumbled to McDonalds for our customary after party feast. After we had glutted
ourselves on MSG and fries galore, we all headed off in our own directions.
Some stayed to party a little longer but the Anjung crew headed back home for
the after party which involved country music, drinks, dancing, laughter and
more good times in the park. I think I only stumbled into bed around 6 am on
Saturday morning. I wish I could I say I got some decent sleep but alas,
Saturday happened.
Ideally I would have gotten to
sleep until noon but I ended up having to get out of bed several times to sort stuff out
like the birthday cake and mattresses. Eventually I gave up any hope of going
back to bed and decided to make a nice big breakfast; sausage, scrambled eggs,
curried baked beans and toast with chai latte. Just as I sat down to eat, a
whole bunch of friends landed at my door so I whipped up some extra food then
we all chilled and played a few games of Apples to Apples. Its our new addiction
compliments of my boyfriend. Kelly, you had better keep it going when I’m gone.
We can have a reunion game in a few years. That thought makes me smile. I
really hope we are still all a part of each other’s lives years from now.
Anyway, after that we all went home to shower and get ready then we headed to
Pyeongtaek where we met up at Ashley’s for all you can eat cheesecake (and some
other food too but mainly the cheesecake).
After 2 hours of marathon eating, we rubbed our distended bellies and
groaned in stuffed delight then headed back to Anjung. Miraculously, Sayida
decided to stay and we convinced Priya to come to Anjung too. I am not too sure
what everyone else got up to that night but I crawled my exhausted butt into
bed and finally got that much needed sleep.
I awoke refreshed and invigorated
on Sunday morning after that beautiful, mostly uninterrupted slumber. I made
breakfast for the girls and then we got ready. Shortly thereafter, everyone was
back at my apartment but this time to celebrate Kelly’s actual birthday with
white chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake and iced coffee (Thanks Lisa and
Mai). Thereafter we all headed off to a jimjilbang (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jjimjilbang).
When I first came to Korea and in the 11 months thereafter, I vehemently refused
to enter a jimjilbang. Just the idea of being the brown, tattooed, overweight,
naked girl being stared at freaked the hell out of me. I could feel the eyes on
me just thinking about it. Alas, it was Kelly’s birthday and she really wanted
to go. How could I say no to her on her birthday so I grudgingly agreed on
condition that I could wear my bathing suit. As it turns out, bathing suits are
not allowed. So there I was, having already paid my entrance and soggy from my
shower with my only options being leave or get naked. I decided to be brave. It
was a bit awkward at first. I’m not a person who will ever fully be
comfortable with my nakedness. Perhaps it was my lack of glasses or the fact
that there were 3 other naked brown tattooed girls but after I while I stopped
being so damn self-conscious. The adjummas weren’t staring (any more than
usual) and maybe it was all in my head after all. I even signed up for the works
which for about $40 (above the entry fee) included a full body scrub, oil rub
and hair wash. It was definitely worth every cent but I haven’t yet decided
whether I feel violated and need therapy or whether I enjoyed it. This was all
done by a semi-naked adjumma who vigorously scrubbed me from head to toe at
least 4 times and in places that have never seen the light of day. This is
painful… very painful but if you can endure it; you will feel silky smooth,
soft and brand new. After that, she covered me in soothing hot towels and then
proceeded to beat me up (not so soothing). At this point I was silently
mouthing to my friends ‘HELP ME’ but it got better. After that was an utterly delightful
oil rub (which also included being rubbed down in some kind of milk), having
something slathered on my face and getting my hair washed and conditioned. I do
feel lovely. My skin looks amazing and my hair is super soft but I doubt it is
an experience that I would repeat anytime too soon. The nakedness is okay but that
scrubbing was pretty painful.
After that I went back to my apartment
to clean, see Priya and Sayida off and then we all headed to a galbi restaurant
in Poseung for dinner. Dinner was absolutely delicious. I don’t know how my
body handled all the good eating I’ve been doing this weekend. It will probably
reflect on the scales but I’ll worry about that later. For now, I’d rather
cherish good food and good times with my friends and love. I’d rather take the
calories and the memories over a skinny body. Afterwards it was back to my
place for more Apples to Apples (which has now become a drinking game) until everyone
was exhausted and buggered off to get some sleep.
And with that came the conclusion
of my amazing weekend. On a side note, my boyfriend came through for me. He’s
not going to end our relationship when I leave. We have decided to try long
distance. It won’t be easy but it’s a fighting chance so I’ll take it. He’s
worth the effort. I am officially exhausted and ready to head home. I hope you
have enjoyed reading all of this. Adios!
